Describes the design of an experiment that is used to determine the acceleration of an accelerating system with the help of an airtrack and a pendulum. (GA)

Describes demonstrations used by the nineteenth century physicists to determine if two bodies oscillating at the same acoustic frequency were in phase. (GA)

Describes a simple method to measure the size of the Earth to an accuracy of order of magnitude 10 percent. The procedure involves finding the time interval between two sunsets, a sunset observed at sea level while lying down, and a sunset viewed at eye height after standing up. (GA)

Discusses several aspects of Fraunhofer diffraction patterns from apertures illuminated by diverging light. Develops a generalization to apertures of arbitrary shape which shows that the sizes of the pattern are related by a simple scale factor. Uses the Abbe theory of image formation by diffraction to discuss the intensity of illumination of the…

Amylose azure can be used as a chromogenic substrate for alpha-amylase in studying the effects of temperature and pH enzyme action. This is a model system which students can use to measure the energy of activation using the Arrhenius plot. (Author/BB)

Describes undergraduate chemistry curricula in which the student is asked to either build a model of one asymmetric unit in the unit cell and to indicate the positions of the symmetry-related units by putting in key atoms, or to identify on a prebuild model the asymetric and symmetry-related units. (BB)

An inexpensive DNA preparation is presented which starts with commercially available frozen packed bacterial cells. Methods for analyzing the DNA are also presented, along with physical chemical experiments which can be done using the purified DNA. (BB)

This study developed and validated an inventory to measure students' attitudes toward and interest in laboratory work in high school chemistry. Factor analysis provided some evidence that interest in and attitude towards laboratory work in high school chemistry is not unidimensional, as it has been assumed to be. (BT)

Describes how a sample of iodine-131-labelled tin (IV) iodide can be used to estimate the mass of tin (IV) iodide present in a mixture with sodium chloride, by isotope dilution analysis. (MLH)

Discusses the negative reactions to the Food & Drug Administration's proposed good laboratory practices for nonclinical laboratory practices. Industry representatives protest the inflexibility and excessive detail in the regulations. (MLH)

The premise of equipotentiality, which has been widely adhered to among learning theorists, states that the laws of learning should not vary with the use of particular stimuli, responses, or reinforcements. Investigates this premise. (Editor/RK)

Stresses the importance of teaching the Greek classics so that they both "speak directly to the student" about matters of importance to modern life and provide an initiation into the ancient ways of life out of which they were written. (Editor)

Noting the lack of time in the 2-year program and the impatience of most student technicians, the author suggests that physics should be taught inductively. Laboratory experiments with understanding of the underlying physics principles are suggested as the appropriate center of activity. Examples are given of this emphasis on experimentation as…

Reports on the pioneering Hammersmith Teenage Project, which attempts to offer delinquents a real alternative to residential care. (Editor)

Kindergarten and second-grade children's free recall on repeated trials was investigated using a semantic orienting task procedure. (Editor)